One second, it’s the season of summer-flowering bulbs, and the next thing you know, it’s already time for fall planting. Now is the time to start buying your specialty spring bulbs (also known as fall bulbs for spring flowers), and this guide will show you how to source them.
Most of the time, I stumble upon bulbs when I least expect it. I’m stopping by the grocery store for my weekly run, and the bulbs welcome me at the entrance to the produce department. Or I might find them while buying some supplies at Home Depot or the local hardware store.
These are great stores to buy your basic bulbs and get them in bulk. You can buy a lot of tulips, daffodils, and crocus to fill your garden beds to give some spring cheer.
But today, I want to shine a light on all those specialty varieties and bulbs that are a little more difficult to find. You look through the product range at Flowerbulb.eu, see so many amazing and cool bulbs, but you won’t often find those at your average store.
This guide will help you level up and source some pretty darn cool spring bulbs (get ready, your neighbours are going to want to know where you got them). Read this guide to find the most gorgeous blooms.
- What Are Spring Bulbs?
- When to Buy Spring Bulbs?
- Where to Buy Spring Bulbs
- Tulip Selections
- Fall/Spring Specialty Bulb Distributors
- What to Look for in a Bulb
- How to Plant Fall Bulbs
Sponsored post: Thank you to Flowerbulb.eu for sponsoring this post! As long-time readers know, Flowerbulb.eu has been one of my favourite organizations to partner with simply because they’re all about spreading the joy of bulbs. Their website is full of information on how to grow bulbs, and they’re a fabulous resource to have on hand when planning and planting your blooms. Go to Flowerbulb.eu for inspiration!
What Are Spring Bulbs?
If you search for spring bulbs or fall bulbs, you’re looking for the same thing! It can be a tad confusing when shopping, but they both mean the bulbs you plant in the fall for blooms in the spring.
The most popular spring bulbs include tulips, daffodils, alliums, hyacinths, ranunculus, and crocus, but many speciality bulbs can be more difficult to find since they’re not often on sale at hardware or grocery stores, or even the garden centre.
For instance, here are a few standouts:
- Bird-in-a-bush, Corydalis solida
- Double daffodil Narcissus
- Fringed tulips or Rembrandt tulips Tulipa
- Dog’s-tooth violet Erythronium
- Foxtail lily Eremurus
- Crown imperial Fritillaria imperialis
- Ipheion uniflorum
- Ornithogalum
- Striped squill Puschkinia scilloides var. libanotica
When to Buy Spring Bulbs?
Start looking by the end of the summer. By the end of August, many of the speciality varieties will already be on sale and beginning to sell out. Once you see a mum or squash for sale at a grocery store, there will be bulbs available to plant.
You don’t have to plant your bulbs right away, so don’t worry about having them too early. Store the bulbs in a cool, dry place. Make sure they have some airflow (don’t leave them in a plastic bag from the store), so they don’t go mouldy before you’re ready to plant them.
Bulbs will be on sale well into November, but if you want the best selection, start shopping early. The bulbs will also be fresher, and you improve your chances of success when you plant on time.
Where to Buy Spring Bulbs
Now for the juicy part! Yes, you can find bulbs at Costco, Home Depot, Canadian Tire, Rona, etc., but you’ll have to search rather than stumble upon the hidden gems.
Locally, your first stop should be your tried-and-true garden centre. Remember, for the best selection, you’re going to want to get there by the end of summer. These speciality bulbs are trickier to find, so they’re the first to go.
The next place you can look is your local flower farmers. Many of these farms will buy bulbs from the EU wholesale and distribute the bulbs locally. Google will be your friend here to try and find your local flower farms. Look at their website, Instagram, or Facebook for updates about bulb sales.
Facebook Marketplace is another way to get a surplus of what others in your area are growing, such as flower farmers. Try searching for both fall and spring bulbs.
I also recommend taking a look at the product range on Flowerbulb.eu and selecting some of your favourites. Then, you can directly search for those on Google, plus your location, to find some options that may ship to you.
Tulip Selections
There are so, so many beautiful tulips out there. From the fringed parrot to the painted Rembrandt tulips, you can add some serious colour and playfulness to your garden based on your tulip selection. Here are a few that I’m really loving as of late:
- Tulipa Cool Crystal
- Tulipa Antoinette
- Tulipa Aladdin
- Tulipa Alise
- Tulipa Willem van Oranje
- Tulipa Golden Gate
- Tulipa Zombie
- Tulipa Cerise Parrot
- Tulipa Tom Pouch
Fall/Spring Specialty Bulb Distributors
There are so, so, so many websites where you can order bulbs from. If you’re having trouble finding bulbs, these are some websites in Canada, the USA, Europe, and a few that ship internationally.
- Brent and Becky’s Bulbs, USA, All bulbs
- John Scheepers, USA, All bulbs
- Leo Berbee Bulb Company, USA, Tulips, daffodils, crocus, and other specialty bulbs
- RoozenGaarde, USA, Allium, crocus, daffodil, hyacinth, tulips, muscari, and other specialty bulbs
- Qdaffs, USA, Daffodils
- Schreiner’s Gardens, International, Iris, daylilies, and alliums
- Breck’s Bulbs, USA and Canada, All bulbs
- Veseys, Canada, All bulbs
- West Coast Seeds, Canada, All bulbs
- Wildwood Outdoor Living Centre, USA and Canada, Anemone, hyacinth, ranunculus, and other specialty bulbs
- Coast Farms, Canada, Tulips, daffodils, and other specialty bulbs
- Whistling Prairie Flowers, Canada, Tulips, daffodils, anemones, and ranunculus
- Fluwel, Europe, Daffodils, tulips, and specialty bulbs
- Dutch Grown, USA, Europe, and UK, All bulbs
- Verberghe, Europe and International, All bulbs
What to Look for in a Bulb
If you’re shopping in person, you want to look for bulbs that are fresh and firm-looking. Avoid any bulbs that show any signs of being soft and squishy and have rotten or mouldy areas. On the opposite end of things, you want to ensure the bulbs haven’t completely dried up and lost all signs of life.
Read the package to make sure the bulb is suitable for your growing zone. The last thing you want to do is buy a bulb that will freeze and fail to grow in the spring.
If buying online, you also want to keep an eye out for the shipping times. For instance, you may be buying from a retailer that has a warmer climate, and they may ship out at a date outside your ideal planting time.
Lastly, consider bloom time. I like to include early, mid, and late season blooms in my garden to ensure I have some flowers all spring long. For instance, crocus bloom early in the spring while some tulips can bloom near the end of spring. You can have two whole months of daffodils if you plan right and choose different varieties with different bloom times.
How to Plant Fall Bulbs
I have so many guides on the website for fall bulbs, so that’s where I’ll send you next for all your growing and planting tips.
Start here to find a list of some of my favourite bulbs beyond tulips. Then, to learn how to plant and care for your bulbs, check out my master guide to planting fall bulbs.
If you want to grow bulbs in containers (and I recommend you plant at least one porch planter!), then this guide will show you how to layer the bulbs.
And if you haven’t heard me gush about my front yard bulb lawn, then you’re missing out. Next spring will be year three of my bulb lawn, and each year it gets better and better as the bulbs naturalize and multiply. Already, it creates such a beautiful display in the spring. Here’s part one where I explore my planting methodology, and part two where I show my results and what I learned.
If you’re looking for specific bulb advice, I also have a few guides:
Thanks again to Flowerbulb.eu for sponsoring this post. It’s such a great reminder that now is the time to get the best selection of fall bulbs, whether you’re looking for something fancy or the best colour selection.
From Vancouver, BC, Holly is Garden Therapy’s Content Manager. She has a BFA in Writing from the University of Victoria as well as a diploma in Floristry Design from Burnaby CCE. At home, she loves to grow cut flowers and dried flowers for her business, Dirty Daisy Florals, and is an avid houseplant collector and lover of bees. You can find her at @dirtydaisyflorals and @hollyheuversocial.
